Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Wednesday defended to House members the Trump administration’s request to cut 15 percent from her department’s budget.

McMahon at times had contentious moments with members as she emphasized the request for a $12 billion cut as President Trump wants her to carry out the federal agency’s “final mission.” 

“Madam Secretary, the legacy you will be leaving is that ‘I shut down the Department of Education.’ How we educate our children determines not just their future, but our own. But I think it’s a sad legacy you will leave,” said Rep. Madeleline Dean (D-Penn.) 

At the top of the hearing, McMahon said her three priorities for the department are school choice, literacy rates and returning education to the states.  

“The fiscal year ’26 budget will take a significant step toward that goal. We seek to shrink federal bureaucracy, save taxpayer money and empower states who best know their local needs to manage education in this country,” McMahon said.  

In his budget request, the president is looking to cut most education areas including preschool grants and the Office of Civil Rights.

The only area the Trump administration looked to increase funding was for charter schools, by $60 million.  

The proposed cuts led to multiple discussions between the secretary and Democrats. 

“I’m asking you, do you realize that to send authority back to the states, to eliminate your oversight, to eliminate your accountability, to eliminate your determination as to resources going to schools that are teaching public schools that are teaching underserved communities, this will result in the very reason that we had to get the involvement of our government in this, and that’s a yes or no,” said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) 

“It isn’t a yes or no, but I will not respond to any questions based on the theory that this administration doesn’t care anything about the law and operates outside it,” McMahon responded.  

“From the president of the United States conducting himself in a corrupt manner to his family enriching him and himself corruptly […] I’m telling you, the Department of Education is one of the most important departments in this country and you should feel shameful be engaged with an administration that doesn’t give a damn,” Watson Coleman retorted. 

McMahon pushed back on statements that she is trying to get rid of the 8 to 10 percent of federal funding that goes to states, emphasizing she is looking to move the programs to other departments.  

Trump has previously floated, for example, moving student loans to the Department of Treasury and programs for students with disabilities to the Department of Health and Human Services.  

“You don’t want to come up with the 8 percent to help our kids succeed, to help their mental health, to help kids with disabilities,” said Dean.  

“I’ve already said Title I funding, IDEA funding is still going to come out” through other departments, McMahon responded.  

Republicans largely praised McMahon for the work she has done so far to slash the Department of Education, an agency the party has tried to get rid of since its creation. 

But the end of the department is not possible without an act of Congress, a high bar the Trump administration is unlikely to make it over.  

“Secretary McMahon has wasted no time implementing President Trump’s bold agenda to restore education to the states, and I want to commend her for efforts on hitting the ground running,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. 

“Students need reading, writing, math, critical thinking for everyday activities to succeed in their jobs and to make life’s big decisions,” he added. “Federal funding has let things like social justice advocacy, divisive issues” overtake a “focus on teaching students” core subjects.